A run ‘n gun filmmaker’s POV on the business and creative world of new media and web tv

The Hayley Project: Day 8

June 30, 2007

Day 8 – Sunday. So today was the last day in a fairly compact shoot schedule. We had a 3-day shoot the prior week, took two days off, and then shot for another 5 days. After yesterday’s disappointing shoot, we needed to step up because we had a lot to do. One fairly large scene with 4 actors, another smaller scene, and 2 pickup shots. If we could get all that done, it would be a big “win”. (FYI, we’ve started to use the word “win” a lot – add that to the top ten words you’ll hear on set).

We had cast show up around 11 AM. We went to Dave and Paolo’s place and planned to shoot the big scene in Dave’s room. We had another new actor show up and he was dynamite. There was a little bit of a risk because we had only seen him once before, but he was incredible and a great guy to work with. Unlike my apartment, Dave and Paolo’s place was very comfortable so the actors had more room to spread out, enjoy better air conditioning, and even hang out on their terrace. During breaks, the cast and crew would play Guitar Hero. Also, we were shooting a funny scene so the overall mood was great.

The one interesting moment came when one of our PAs had a directing suggestion while we were filming the first scene. He suggested a manner in which an actor could say the line. It was a very awkward moment. I knew he didn’t know any better and thought he was being helpful, but his suggestion was an incredibly big no-no on set. Imagine if every person started to give small helpful suggestions to actors. Not only could it confuse actors but it undermines the director’s role, who should be the only person discussing directing with actors. Anyway, its a major no-no and Jato even told him to never do that again. I explained to him later why it’s bad to give out suggestions like that. He completely understood why it was out of line.

Even though the first scene took a while to shoot, we completed our full day. We were a little rushed near the end with pickup shots to get Rachel out before she had to go to work, but we got everything we needed. We even had another actor come back from Philly to finish up his pickup shots. Today was a huge win and a great way to end the 8-day shoot schedule.

Big win. We got a big chunk done over the eight days but we still have a lot more to do. Going forward, we’ll probably have a sporadic shoot schedule. I think scheduling is going to become a major factor.

Interestingly enough, we found out that Rachel is a semi-finalist (top 100) in a Maxim hometown hotties contest. If you go to the maxim page, you can vote her!